The short version: Wash brushes used around the eyes every 7 days, face brushes every 2 weeks, and spot-clean daily with a quick spray if you can be bothered, which most people cannot. Use a gentle shampoo or a real brush cleanser, lukewarm water, and dry them flat so water does not get into the glue that holds the bristles in. Skip this and you are putting a week of dead skin, oil, bacteria and old product straight back onto your face every single morning.
Why this matters more than people think
A used foundation brush is sitting damp with oil, skin cells and product for days at a time. That is a decent environment for bacteria to build up in. Studies on makeup brush hygiene (including work cited by the American Academy of Dermatology) have shown dirty brushes can carry things like staphylococcus and E. coli. You are not going to get seriously ill from a dirty brush, but you will get clogged pores, dull-looking foundation that sits in patches, and brushes that physically wear out faster because product dries hard in the bristles and starts breaking them down.
If you have ongoing skin issues like breakouts, irritation or anything that is not clearing up, that is a conversation for your GP or a dermatologist, not a blog post about brush hygiene. This post is about keeping your tools clean and your makeup looking better, nothing more.
How often to wash them
Forget the vague "regularly" advice. Here is a schedule that works:
- Eye brushes and beauty blenders (concealer, eyeshadow, under-eye): every 7 days. Thin skin, close to mucous membranes, highest risk of irritation.
- Face brushes (foundation, powder, blush, bronzer, contour): every 10 to 14 days.
- Brushes you use daily for liquid or cream products
- Powder-only brushes you use occasionally
- Beauty blenders specifically
- Powder-only brushes you use occasionally
If you wear makeup daily, that works out to washing something roughly every other day on rotation. If you have a small kit of five or six brushes used a few times a week, you can get away with a real deep clean once every two weeks and a quick spot clean in between.
A worked example
Say you use a foundation brush and a powder brush every weekday for work, plus an eyeshadow blending brush three times a week. On a Sunday-to-Sunday schedule, your foundation brush gets a real wash every Sunday without fail. Your eyeshadow brush gets washed every other Sunday, alternating with a quick alcohol-based spray clean on the off week. Your powder brush, used less intensively, gets washed once a fortnight alongside the eyeshadow brush. That is three brushes on a rolling two-week cycle, which takes about 20 minutes total across the fortnight. Not glamorous, but it is the difference between foundation that blends and foundation that sits in streaks by Wednesday.
How to wash them, step by step
- Wet the bristles only, pointing downward under lukewarm running water. Never soak the whole brush head-first or submerge the ferrule (the metal part), because water will loosen the glue holding the bristles in and your brush will start shedding.
- Add cleanser. A mild shampoo, castile soap, or a dedicated brush cleanser all work. Put a small amount in your palm.
- Swirl the brush in circular motions in the cleanser on your palm, or use a textured silicone cleaning mat if you have one. You will see colour coming out almost immediately with eyeshadow or foundation brushes.
- Rinse thoroughly, bristles pointing down, until the water runs clear. This usually takes longer than people expect, especially with darker pigments.
- Repeat swirling and rinsing once more if the water is still cloudy.
- Squeeze out excess water gently with a clean towel, reshape the bristles with your fingers back into their original point or fan shape.
- Dry flat or bristles hanging slightly over the edge of a counter, never standing upright in a cup. Standing them upright lets water run down into the ferrule and glue, which is the single most common way people ruin an expensive brush.
- Leave for 4 to 8 hours depending on brush size and thickness. Dense foundation brushes take longer than small eyeshadow ones.
The quick version for in between washes
Between full washes, a daily spritz of isopropyl alcohol spray (70 percent) on a tissue, wiped across the bristles, removes surface product and kills a chunk of bacteria in seconds. It will not replace a real wash because it does not remove oil buildup, but it buys you time if you have not got round to the full clean yet.
The bit nobody wants to say out loud
Most people do not wash their brushes anywhere near as often as they tell themselves they do. Surveys on the subject regularly find a large chunk of makeup wearers go a month or longer between washes, and plenty admit they have never washed a brush at all, just wiped it on a cloth. If that is you, you are not alone and you are not disgusting, but you should know your foundation looking patchy or your powder applying unevenly by Thursday is very likely your brush, not your technique or your product. People spend money upgrading their foundation when the actual fix was a bar of gentle shampoo and ten minutes on a Sunday.
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The other uncomfortable truth: expensive brushes do not need less washing than cheap ones. Natural bristle brushes (goat hair, squirrel hair) need gentler, less frequent washing than synthetic ones because the natural hair can dry out and become brittle, but they still need the same hygiene schedule. A £40 brush left dirty for a month is no cleaner than a £4 one.
What breaks brushes faster than normal wear
- Washing with hot water, which can melt the glue in the ferrule
- Using dish soap or anything with strong degreasers, which strips natural oils from bristles and makes them brittle
- Letting them dry standing upright, bristles up, in a cup or pot
- Pulling bristles while wet, which weakens the shaft
- Leaving them wet and bundled together in a makeup bag, which is how you get mould, not just bacteria
A simple way to stay on top of it
Pick one day a week, it does not matter which, and treat it as brush day alongside whatever else you already do on autopilot that day. Keep a small bottle of brush cleanser or baby shampoo by the sink specifically for this. The barrier is rarely knowing how, it is remembering to, so tie it to an existing habit rather than relying on willpower.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use normal shampoo to wash makeup brushes?
Yes, a gentle, sulphate-free shampoo or baby shampoo works well and is often what dedicated brush cleansers are based on anyway. Avoid anything with strong degreasers like dish soap, which can dry out and damage the bristles over time.
How long does it take for makeup brushes to dry after washing?
Expect 4 to 8 hours for most brushes, longer for dense foundation or powder brushes. Lay them flat or with the head hanging slightly off the edge of a counter on a towel, never standing upright, so water does not seep into the handle.
Is it bad to use a dirty makeup brush?
It will not usually cause serious illness, but a dirty brush carries built-up oil, dead skin and bacteria that can lead to clogged pores, uneven application and patchy-looking foundation. If you notice ongoing breakouts or skin irritation that does not improve with better brush hygiene, speak to your GP or a dermatologist rather than assuming it is only the brush.
How often should you wash beauty blenders compared to brushes?
Beauty blenders need washing more often than brushes, roughly every 3 to 4 uses, because the sponge material holds more moisture and product, which makes it a better environment for bacteria to grow in than firmer brush bristles.
